Frustration over Somis wedding venue prompts crusade for greater land rights

A Somis woman, frustrated over how the county has handled her family's request to operate a wedding venue in Balcom Canyon, is crusading for greater landuse freedom across Ventura County.

Debra Tash worked for more than two years alongside her daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Ivan Amodei, as the couple sought to open a wedding venue at their ranch in Somis, about three miles west of Moorpark. Problems obtaining a permit arose when neighbors expressed concerns about potential traffic, noise and litter issues, she said.

"Neighbors are totally within their rights to disagree, but the planning department prosecuted my daughter and they stalled her plans because neighbors complained," Tash said.

County planning staff originally recommended allowing the Amodeis to host 20 events a year, but planning commissioners cut that number in half after fielding complaints from neighbors at two public hearings in February.

Last month, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors upheld the planning commission's decision by a 32 margin, allowing the Amodeis to host 10 daytime weddings a year, a number, Tash said, that isn't enough to sustain a business.

"This is not just. I don't believe that injustice should go on without being stopped. If it isn't my daughter, it's going to be somebody else," Tash said.

Organizing opposition

Distraught over her experience with county operating procedures, Tash decided to place a call to rural King County, Wash., birthplace of the Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights (CAPR), a group she learned about while attending a property rights conference in Seattle.

She asked founder Steve Hammond to come to Ventura County to help establish a local chapter, the first outside the state of Washington.

According to Hammond, CAPR is a nonpartisan, political action group that supports equitable and scientifically sound land-use regulations but doesn't want public agencies to impose restrictions on property owners without compensation.

"If we're all going to get clean water and clean air, then everyone should pay," he said.

"We're trying to bring balance to the environmental policies which have come to be balanced on the backs of private property owners."

The first meeting of the Ventura County Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights was held June 18 at Rancho de Las Palmas in Moorpark. About 100 people attended, many of whom, like Tash, had experienced frustration with cumbersome county permitting practices.

The event allowed interested parties to get acquainted with the organization's purpose, said Tash, who serves as president of the new chapter.

"Our mission is to protect and advance property rights for every citizen," she said. "We're going to try to offer services to our members and change the way the county is working."

Ventura resident Carole Alary, who was also involved in founding the chapter, said the county must not only reduce paperwork but also improve its customer service to lighten the financial load on property owners applying for permits.

"There are so many customers who are upset with excessive costs and delays in permitting," said Alary, who owns a land-use consulting and permit expediting company.

Mark Lunn, chief of staff for Supervisor Peter Foy and chair of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, attended the event as a resident of Thousand Oaks.

"There are a lot of folks out there who are frustrated with government in general and who are concerned about restrictions that are placed on private property uses," he said.

Lunn, who told the Acorn in June that he's considering running against Linda Parks to represent District 2 on the Board of Supervisors, said he's in full agreement with all that the upstart property rights group wants to accomplish.

"Property owners should have reasonable and conforming use of their property as long as it's within the legal boundaries and it fits with municipal codes and the general plan," he said.

County says it's trying

Kim Rodriguez, director of the county planning division, said Ventura County is working to make it easier for residents to get approved for special landuse permits, which are required to operate businesses or make improvements on properties in unincorporated areas.

County zoning ordinances govern the use of one's property. The uses and structures allowed differ from zone to zone, which can be agricultural, commercial or residential. Any exceptions require permits from the planning division.

Improvements were implemented in March to simplify applying and billing, Rodriguez said, and the county created the Development Review Committee to provide feedback to applicants earlier in the process, hoping to reduce costs and prevent unforeseen delays by catching problems sooner.

The county has also created a discretionary permit coordinator position to oversee front counter operations and offer some free services to customers when they first apply.

"To that end, we have been working with many members of this group (CAPR) for over the past year in the public outreach component of the implementation of the plan," Rodriguez said.

The Ventura County CAPR is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Thurs., July 30 at the Newbury Park Library, 2331 Borchard Road, Newbury Park. Individuals pay $25 a year to join the alliance. The cost is $35 for couples and $50 for businesses. Former County Supervisor John Flynn is the senior adviser for the alliance.

For more information about the new organization, visit proprights.org.